Ethnobotanical knowledge of seaweed, seagrass, and mangrove resources in coastal communities: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Background: Seaweed, seagrass, and mangrove resources support coastal food systems, small-scale aquaculture, habitat quality, cultural practice, and local livelihoods. Their uses are often discussed separately in fisheries, marine ecology, aquaculture, conservation, and ethnobotanical studies. This review synthesizes Scopus-indexed evidence on ethnobotanical and local ecological knowledge related to these resources.

 Methods: A PRISMA-oriented Scopus review was conducted on 10 June 2026 using terms for ethnobotany or local knowledge, coastal plant-based resources, and coastal or fishing communities. Of 291 records, 94 were excluded after title and abstract screening. All 197 eligible records were coded by resource group, knowledge domain, livelihood, conservation, and aquaculture linkage. They comprised 184 primary or context-specific records and 13 secondary or conceptual publications.

Results: Mangroves occurred in 133 records (67.5%), seaweed or macroalgae in 35 (17.8%), and seagrass in 32 (16.2%). Conservation or management was identified in 147 records (74.6%), livelihood and economic use in 116 (58.9%), and aquaculture linkage in 32 (16.2%). Study settings were identifiable in 147 records; India and Indonesia were the most frequent, each occurring in 26 records. Categories were non-exclusive.

Conclusions: Analyzing all 197 eligible records removes the additional 30-record prioritization. Mangrove knowledge remains the most visible, while seaweed and seagrass evidence is less frequent but relevant to coastal aquaculture, food systems, habitat management, and livelihoods. The proposed framework connects these domains while recognizing the limits of record-level evidence.

Keywords: Aquaculture; Coastal communities; Ethnobotany; Local ecological knowledge; Mangrove; Seagrass; Seaweed; Traditional ecological knowledge